Friday Night Hoops: North boys look to stay hot, South seeks first win in matchup between city rivals

Published on: 12/9/2011

One team looks to stay perfect, while the other looks for its first win.

The Waukesha North (5-0 overall, 1-0 Classic 8) and Waukesha South (0-3, 0-1) boys basketball teams – two squads heading in opposite directions to begin the 2011-12 season – square off tonight.

The one thing that could be on South’s side is that the game between the city rivals takes place at its home gym.

But it’s still early in the season and the Blackshirts’ fortunes could turn around.

One reason is because they are already battled-tested and have faced some stiff competition, as its three losses have been against teams who have started the year a combined 12-2 (Oconomowoc, Port Washington, Catholic Memorial).

After going 6-17 in 2009-10, the South boys rebounded nicely in posting a 15-9 record in 2010-11.

The Waukesha South girls also battle its city rivals, Waukesha North. Both South and North are 2-1 and 0-1 in the Classic 8. The South girls team, which includes five seniors, four sophomores and a junior, has had winning seasons in each of the past three years going 12-10 in 2008-09, 17-8 in 2009-10 and 16-7 in 2010-11.

The Northstars, meanwhile, are extremely young – there are no seniors on the roster and seven of their nine players are underclassmen.

This doesn’t bode well for a team that is trying to win its first Classic 8 game since the 2002-03 season – a string of more than 100 games. Overall, they are 19-172 in the last nine years.

In recent years they went 0-21 in 2006-07, a combined 2-40 in 2007-08 and 2008-09, but have won more games recently going 3-20 in 2009-10 and 4-19 in 2010-11.

While Wauwatosa East and West aren’t at the top of its conferences, North (2-1, 0-1) has scored some nice double-digit wins over those teams this year, which could give this young bunch a boost of confidence it needs going forward.

The Waukesha West boys (2-1, 1-0) and girls face Kettle Moraine with the girls at home and the boys on the road.

The West boys are coming off a 19-6 season a year after going 18-7. The Wolverines’ only loss was a 65-64 non-conference overtime defeat to highly-ranked Whitnall on Nov. 29.

After trailing by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, West came back and even held a three-point lead late in that game. But Whitnall’s Luke Mentkowski sent the game into overtime with his 3-pointer with less than 1 second and the Falcons held on in the extra session.

The West girls, coming off a 12-11 season one year after going 3-18 during 2009-10, has begun the year at 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the Classic 8.

The Catholic Memorial boys (4-1, 1-0) and girls teams square off against Arrowhead on Friday night with the boys heading to Hartland and the Memorial girls staying home.

After having four consecutive winning seasons highlighted by a 27-2 season in 2009-10, the Crusaders had a down year in 2010-11 going 6-17. Memorial is junior heavy and only boasts two seniors.

Meanwhile, the girls program, which has hovered around .500 the last two years, looks to be a contender this year in the Classic 8 as the Crusaders (1-1, 1-0) are senior heavy. Eight of the 10 players on its rosters are seniors with the other two being sophomores.

All varsity games are scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. after the JV games.